Papapapat.
Gerald’s sword drew a long arc as it dug toward Krovitz’s side. The attack, neither fast
nor slow, was clearly a formal one made merely to observe courtesy.
Krovitz raised his sword in a straight line and lightly blocked the blow. The appropriate defensive motion,
neither lacking nor excessive, gave a rough sense of the level of swordsmanship he had attained. The two
swords collided and spat out a dull sound.
Tak.
Krovitz’s eyes gleamed with an unusual luster. It was anger toward the one who had insulted
the honor of the Duke Knights. In his heart, he wanted to knock his opponent down in a single stroke, but he
never rushed. Even aside from the fact that Albert had fallen at his opponent’s hands, Krovitz
was not one to look down on an opponent under any circumstances. Was he not Krovitz, who had risen to where he stood
by his own ability alone, without relying on any connections? After letting out a long, deep breath,
Krovitz finally began his attack.
“Be careful.”
Even without the warning, Gerald had already taken a defensive stance.
Left-Hand Sword Art (左手劍法). Though it was an unorthodox sword art created by a nameless wanderer, after long years
of refinement, it possessed a degree of perfection that did not fall short of any famed sword art of the Central Plains.
Following the power of One Strike, Certain Kill (一擊必殺), its greatest advantage was the chain of attacks that,
once an opening was seized, gave the opponent no chance at all.
However, this technique did not apply in every situation. The most important
point in the Left-Hand Sword Art was first to grasp the opponent’s opening. Only by persistently digging into the opening one had found,
like a viper targeting its prey, could one finish the opponent off completely.
To do that, one first had to focus on defense and see through the opponent’s weaknesses. Following
that essence of the Left-Hand Sword Art, Gerald firmly assumed a defensive posture and gripped the wooden sword’s handle
tightly. Since a raging wave of attacks was slashing in at his whole body, there was no way he
could avoid feeling tense.
“As expected of the captain of the Duke Knights. Will I really be able to find an opening?”
Gerald could not continue the thought any further. Krovitz’s fierce assault poured down without leaving him
even a moment to catch his breath.
Papapapak.
As befitted the captain of the Duke Knights, Krovitz’s attacks were so fierce they called to mind a storm.
Not only did they contain enough power to split even a boulder in a single blow, each and every attack was
precise and sharp, as if measured by a ruler. The wooden sword moved like the wind, digging into vital points
all over Gerald’s body. Perhaps wary of a counterattack, most of the blows were short, snapping strikes.
Gerald dodged each of those attacks with nimble movements. Those he could not evade, he blocked with his sword and
shield. His defensive posture was utterly natural, and in diverting the force,
not the slightest imbalance appeared. That sight proved that Gerald had already reached a considerable level.
At a glance, Krovitz’s bulk was nearly twice Gerald’s. In particular, his technique of
concentrating power in an instant when attacking was superb. Though there was no Aura Blade within it,
it was an attack no ordinary knight would even dare to think of receiving.
However, Gerald parried every attack without difficulty. His technique of appropriately using the angles of his
shield and sword to divert the force had already reached maturity. That
was due to the sparring experience he had accumulated with the Death Knights until now. Through countless
sparring matches, Gerald’s movements had improved by leaps and bounds. As his attacks repeatedly came to nothing,
a strange light flashed past Krovitz’s eyes.
“Not bad. His fundamentals are quite solid.”
But Krovitz was not the sort to let his opponent be just because of that. Against the opponent who had disgraced the honor of the Duke Knights,
Krovitz had already resolved to show him a bitter lesson. After one exchange
had passed, Krovitz’s attacks slowly began to change. Since short, snapping attacks did not work,
he had no choice but to put power into his blows.
Papapat.
The wooden sword rushed toward Gerald’s side with a terrifying sound of cleaving air. Unlike before,
it was an attack imbued with ample power. Feeling its might, Gerald’s face hardened
stiffly. He instinctively realized that if he defended carelessly, he would suffer for it.
“Truly impressive. To be able to put this much power into it without even rotating his body……”
Due to the development of armor, Arcadia’s swordsmanship generally followed
the form of a Tyrant Sword (覇劍), based on strength. Only by doing so could one break through the armor
worn by the opponent and inflict a blow. However, there was a strict limit to the power
human muscles could produce. Thus, in Arcadia, techniques had developed well
for rotating the body and adding one’s body weight to increase striking power.
In other words, they were attacks that made use of centrifugal force. But there was a serious weakness in that.
In the process of rotating the body, an opening was inevitably revealed to some extent, and if one was attacked then,
one would have no choice but to fall to one’s knees in vain. Armor would block the first blow, but there was naturally a limit
to that, so when making a spinning attack, one had to pay particular attention to defense.
But Krovitz’s technique was different. He had merely twisted his arm slightly while swinging his sword, yet
it carried a force that could not be ignored. Still, Gerald had no time to think at length.
“Urgh.”
As sword clashed against sword, Gerald’s small body slid backward. Because it had been an unexpected
attack, he had failed to fully divert the force. However, he did not lose his balance. He had experienced
such situations countless times through sparring with the Death Knights, so fortunately he was able to avoid the crisis.
Gerald knew well that losing his balance was directly connected to defeat. Regaining
his posture, Gerald once again took a defensive stance. A faint smile hovered at the corner of his mouth.
“In sparring, the Death Knights never once went easy on me. It was practically
the same as real combat, so after a single match, my entire body would be covered in bruises.
Thanks to that, I did become stronger, though.”
When his decisive strike came to nothing, Krovitz tilted his head.
“Strange.”
He had been certain the opponent would lose his balance, yet his opponent had unexpectedly received the attack well.
Because of that one blow, the thought of looking down on his opponent vanished completely from Krovitz’s mind.
He had realized that this was no easy opponent. After finishing his thought, Krovitz shouted fiercely.
“Do you intend to end this by doing nothing but defending?”
Krovitz hurled himself diagonally and sent out attacks in succession. Three attacks—
a downward strike, a slash, and a sweeping blow—were carried out almost simultaneously. It was an attack that used Krovitz’s specialty,
twisting the muscles to load power into the blow. But his opponent, though staggering, stubbornly blocked
the attacks. Seeing him sway greatly yet not lose his balance, he seemed to have trained quite extensively.
Krovitz’s brow bent into an inverted V.
“Unexpected. He doesn’t even look twenty yet, but his fundamentals are this good……”
Perhaps because he was surprised, Krovitz’s movements slowed for a moment. At that instant, Gerald’s eyes flashed.
At last, he had found an opening. A fierce shout burst from between his lips.
“Yaaap!”
At last, Gerald’s attack began. The wooden sword in his hand thrust in a straight line toward
Krovitz’s armpit. Gerald, who had focused only on defense until now, had finally gone on
the offensive. It was the moment when the Central Plains’ Left-Hand Sword Art was about to unfold from Gerald’s hand.
“Huh!”
With a hurried gasp, Krovitz desperately twisted his body. His opponent’s sword was,
astonishingly, digging straight into his opening. It was a vital point he could not block with his sword, so
he twisted his shield with all his might and lowered his stance.
Papak.
Fortunately, the sword struck the edge of the shield at an angle and bounced upward. Krovitz was able to avoid the crisis
because he had moved instinctively. If not for the reflexes born from countless real battles, he would never
have been able to block it. However, because of that, it was inevitable that his body’s balance would collapse
at least a little……
Gerald’s attacks poured down without pause. Once he seized the initiative, his offensive continued
as if a dam had burst. Because it was the Left-Hand Sword Art, completed through long years of refinement,
there was not the slightest awkwardness in its linked movements. Because of that, Krovitz had to suffer considerably……
Papapapak.
Wooden sword and wooden sword, wooden sword and shield collided countless times, scattering splinters of wood.
The wooden shield was gouged in an unsightly manner. Busy blocking, Krovitz had no
room to think of anything else. His opponent’s chain of attacks was that powerful. The
wooden sword Gerald held moved smoothly like a living snake, aiming at Krovitz’s entire body.
The problem was that each and every sword path was extremely unfamiliar to Krovitz. Since attacks came from directions
he had never seen before, Krovitz had to devote himself to defense with all his might.
His eyes were now wide open, as if they might tear from shock.
“To think there was such a way of attacking in this world……”
Only then did he understand how Albert had been defeated. If one received such unfamiliar attacks, anyone
would inevitably be thrown into confusion and have their hands and feet tangled. But Krovitz was
different from Albert. Unlike Albert, who had wavered in confusion at the unfamiliar attacks,
Krovitz did not lose his composure and steadily repeated attack and defense. Even diminished, a fine fish remained a fine fish;
he had not obtained the position of captain of the Duke Knights for nothing. Though he swayed continuously,
Krovitz received the attacks with all his might while diligently observing and analyzing his opponent’s sword paths. And he came to one
conclusion.
“This is a sword art that must never be taken lightly.”
His opponent’s swordsmanship did not fall short when compared to any sword art existing in Arcadia.
It was bizarre, fierce, unconventional, and yet entirely without openings. In a word, it was a sword art
whose perfection had reached the extreme. Even as they exchanged attacks and defenses, Krovitz grumbled constantly.
“Damn it, where did such swordsmanship come from……”
Meanwhile, the sword paths of the sword art his opponent was unfolding gradually began to become familiar to his eyes.
Krovitz, who almost instinctively grasped the opening revealed at the moment the sword path changed, gritted his teeth and
counterattacked. It seemed to be a weakness exposed because his opponent had not fully mastered it,
rather than an opening in the sword art itself.
Pak.
With a heavy impact sound, the flow of attacks was cut off. However, Krovitz could not rashly attempt a counterattack.
Even though he had cut off the pulse of the attack, his opponent had not lost his balance.
Watching his opponent step back like flowing water and regain his stance, Krovitz was finally
able to catch his breath. The thought that this was an opponent he must not take lightly once again passed through his mind.
After catching his breath for a moment, Krovitz took his stance and threw out a remark.
“Amazing. You are fully qualified to challenge me.”
“Thank you. Hah, hah.”
Gerald was gasping for breath over and over. Because he had launched a fierce assault for quite some time,
he had not been able to regulate his breathing. On the other hand, his opponent, who had received his attacks in full,
was maintaining a relatively calm state compared to him. Gerald bit his lip hard.
“As expected of the captain of the Duke Knights. The Sword Master I fought earlier
couldn’t block even half of my chain attacks……”
Gerald’s chain attacks had already gained a reputation among the Death Knights. Even the Death Knights,
who were Grand Master-level, would shake their heads after sparring with Gerald.
Though he had never once succeeded in landing an attack, even they fully
acknowledged the power of the Left-Hand Sword Art. And now, another opponent had appeared who could receive
his chain attacks in full…… After catching his breath to some extent, Gerald took his stance.
“Shall we continue?”
A smile formed at the corner of Krovitz’s mouth. Rather, it was exactly what he had hoped for.
“Of course. Need you even ask?”
As if afraid his opponent’s mind might change, Krovitz was the one who was in a hurry. The thought of
teaching his opponent a lesson had long since disappeared from his mind. In a word, his opponent was a strong warrior
whose skill matched his arrogance.
“Since you’ve allowed me to taste such a sharp attack, I’ll return the favor appropriately.”
Gerald used the edge of his shield to divert Krovitz’s straight thrust into the air.
The two once again tangled together and began to exchange attacks and defenses.
Because he had been harshly trained by the Death Knights, Gerald was able to block Krovitz’s attacks
without any difficulty. Each and every Death Knight was a master whose skill surpassed Krovitz’s,
so there was no reason Gerald would easily allow an attack through.
Krovitz poured out extremely powerful attacks in succession, but his opponent blocked them without difficulty.
Moreover, the counterattacks he occasionally unleashed were powerful enough to startle Krovitz. Beads of sweat
slowly began to form on both their faces.
“Excellent.”
Krovitz was in a state of great excitement. That was only natural, for since becoming
captain of the Duke Knights, he had never fought so exhilaratingly. If this was an opponent
with whom he could cross swords to this extent, it felt as though fighting through the night would still not be enough.
That was how thirsty Krovitz was for a match.